Vaccinations a responsibility

The numbers continue to rise in the ongoing multistate measles outbreak that the Centers for Disease Control has linked to having most likely started at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif. Apparently, some December visitors left the amusement park with a lot more than magical family memories. The CDC believes at least 103 of them left infected with measles.

And as of Feb. 6 the CDC reports the disease has spread to a total of 121 people in 17 states and Washington, D.C. While most of the cases are located in western states at this point, there is one case next door to us in Texas.

While the numbers may not seem dire or dangerous to most folks at this point, what the outbreak disturbingly reveals is a hole in our nation’s immunization program that should concern us all. This outbreak is happening because some in our population — whether on purpose or not — ended up being susceptible to the disease most likely brought into the country by a visitor simply because they weren’t properly vaccinated against it.

That’s why the outbreak also has reignited the simmering debate over childhood vaccinations. While most people follow their doctor’s recommended program of vaccinations for children, some make the choice to not do so. In some cases these choices are made for religious or philosophical reasons, but in many instances, these folks are simply skeptical. Certainly, there’s nothing wrong with that, but they are often making their choices based on Google searches and anecdotal evidence rather than the hard scientific evidence that over the years has shown these vaccines work to not only prevent the spread of illness but they save lives as well.

Among those opposed to vaccinations the reasons may vary but we have no doubt that lack of trust is a common thread here. Lack of trust in big pharmaceuticals creating the vaccines; lack of trust in the medical industry dispensing the shots; and most of all a lack of trust in the government that’s supposed to be providing oversight of the other two on behalf of the people. Some of that lack of trust might be deserved based on past failings from all of these parties, but the fact remains (and the evidence shows) our nation’s immunization program provides good protection for the nation’s health. It doesn’t make sense why these individuals continue risking the lives of their children and their neighbors.

Currently, most people in our country are protected against measles and a variety of other nasty diseases like diphtheria, hepatitis, polio, whooping cough, mumps and rotavirus thanks to the vaccination program. Indeed, it’s working so well most people living today have rarely seen actual cases of measles. After all, it was declared eliminated from the United States in 2000. It continues to pop up through outbreaks (the annual number of cases reported have ranged from a low 37 in 2004 to a high of 644 in 2014) because measles is still common in many parts of the world including some countries in Europe, Asia, the Pacific and Africa.

The early symptoms — high fever, cough, runny nose, and red, watery eyes — can easily be mistaken for influenza or some other illness until the white spots develop in the mouth and the red rash breaks out on the skin. It is a highly contagious disease living in the nose and throat mucus of an infected person and is spread by coughing or sneezing. Infected people can spread the disease to others from four days before to four days after the rash appears. If one person has it, 90 percent of the people close to that person who are not immune also will become infected.

Our nation began its measles vaccination program in 1963. Before that between 3 million and 4 million a year contracted the disease in the United States; about 48,000 were hospitalized; 4,000 developed encephalitis (brain swelling); and as many as 500 died. Those are scary numbers and we don’t want to go back to those days.

Vaccines work for the good of all. They are kind of like traffic laws. Society is simply better off when we each help protect our neighbors. And that is exactly what a vaccination does. Getting vaccinated is a responsibility, not a choice. Keep your children’s vaccinations updated.

The editorials in this column represent the opinions of The News-Star’s editorial board, composed of General Manager and Executive Editor Kathy Spurlock, Business and Politics Reporter Greg Hilburn and Education Reporter Barbara Leader.